There are pirate games that ask you to captain a ship, and then there are pirate games that whisk you away on massive adventures. Corsair Cove has now dropped onto the Xbox Store for PC, as well as Game Pass, Steam and the Epic Games Store, inviting strategy fans to trade the cutlass for careful planning as they fight to keep the Golden Age of Piracy alive.
Available now for £34.99, or included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, Corsair Cove is a PC-only release. It is not playable on Xbox Series X|S consoles, but it should appeal to anyone who enjoys deep city builders with a healthy dose of swashbuckling adventure.
And if you’ve recently been sailing the seas in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, here’s another excuse to keep your sea legs fresh – albeit from a very different perspective.
At A Glance
- Game: Corsair Cove
- Developer: Limbic Entertainment
- Publisher: Hooded Horse
- Platforms: PC (Xbox Store, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Steam, Epic Games Store)
- Price: £34.99 or included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Genre: City Builder / Strategy / Management
Build A Pirate Paradise – One Cliff At A Time
Forget laying out neat little streets on flat land. Corsair Cove encourages you to think vertically, transforming rugged cliffs, hilltops and rocky coastlines into a thriving pirate settlement.
Starting with little more than a shipwreck and a handful of survivors, you’ll gradually expand your hideout into a bustling stronghold. Taverns, docks, cannon foundries, defensive towers and homes all need to fit together across a landscape that rarely gives you an easy building spot.
Bridges, ropeways and ingenious transport routes become just as important as the buildings themselves, ensuring supplies can move efficiently across your ever-growing settlement.
Keep The Crew Happy – And The Crown At Bay
And shock horror – running a pirate colony isn’t simply about piling up treasure.
Your growing population has increasingly demanding tastes, while larger ships require experienced specialists equipped with everything from spyglasses and sabres to medicine, tobacco and pistols. Managing more than 50 different goods and balancing intricate production chains becomes essential if you want your settlement – and your armada – to thrive.
Meanwhile, the Crown isn’t about to let your empire flourish without a fight. Enemy fleets constantly threaten your island, forcing you to construct defensive fortifications, maintain supplies of cannonballs and black powder, and prepare your own ships for battle.
Chart Unknown Waters
Once your fleet is seaworthy, the wider archipelago opens up.
Neighbouring islands hide rare resources, valuable treasure and dangerous encounters. Expeditions can uncover legendary pirates, mythical sea monsters, forgotten temples and desperate rebellions, with your choices shaping both your own fortunes and the wider conflict against the Crown.
Combat plays out through tactical encounters where the quality of your ships, captains and crew can be just as important as the decisions you make during battle.
Raise The Jolly Roger
City builders continue to evolve in fascinating directions, and Corsair Cove certainly isn’t content with simply following the tide. Between its vertical construction system, sprawling production chains and pirate-flavoured strategy, it offers something a little different for fans of the genre.
If you’re ready to trade life on dry land for rum, riches and a growing pirate empire, Corsair Cove is available now on PC through the Xbox Store, Steam and the Epic Games Store, priced at £34.99 or included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
